Unknown species of lizard discovered in Borneo

A previously unknown species of lizard was discovered in Borneo by Chris Austin, assistant curator of herpetology at Louisiana State University’s Museum of Natural Science. The scientific name of the lizard, which was discovered while Austin was conducting field research in Sarawak, will be unveiled in the March 2007 edition of Journal of Herpetology. The discovery comes as Borneo’s rainforests are increasingly endangered by logging, clearing for oil palm plantations for biofuel, and agricultural fires.

Austin, who with colleague Indraneil Das from the Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, found the species while overturning rainforest logs. Immediately he suspected it was a new species but had to go through the process of proving it before anything could be announced.

The newly discovered lizard, a type of skink, from Borneo. Photo courtesy of Dr. Chris Austin

“Determining that a species is new to science is a long and laborious process,” said Austin. “Natural history museums and their invaluable collections are critical in that they allow scientists to examine known biodiversity in order to determine a species is new.”

The new lizard is a type of skink. Its closest relative is found in the Philippines.

Austin has since moved onto New Guinea where he may have uncovered further species that may be new to science.

“While we were there, we collected what we think is a new species of snake, a new species of lizard and probably two or three new species of frogs,” he said. “But the process of certifying a new species takes so long that it will be awhile before we’re certain.”

Researchers have found hundreds of previously unknown species in recent years. According to WWF, a leading international conservation group, between 1994 and 2004 361 new species were identified. Since then, dozens more have been added. Despite these discoveries, Borneo’s forests continue to be destroyed at an alarming pace. Recent research by Dr. Lisa Curran suggests that in Indonesia’s Western Kalimantan “protected” lowland forests decreased by more than 56 percent between 1984 to 2001. Parks supposedly off limits to loggers have fallen as laws are ignored, while large areas of forest in Borneo have been cleared for palm oil and rubber tree plantations that, in many cases, have yet to be planted. Further, fires set for land clearing periodically burn thousands of hectares of forest and surrounding areas casting a “haze” over much of the region.